Congress Weighs Library Funding

Libraries nationwide can expect additional federal funding if legislators on Capitol Hill pass two bills this fall. The Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA), the primary source of federal funds for public libraries, is up for reauthorization, and a proposed FY2003 appropriations bill that would increase funding for the Institute for Museum and Library Services (IMLS) is expected to go to the Senate floor this month.

The proposed increases are significant, particularly in light of the government's focus on homeland security, says Emily Sheketoff, executive director of the American Library Association's Washington office, who is lobbying down to the wire to convince lawmakers that "librarians truly serve this country in an education capacity."

The Museum and Library Services Act, which reauthorizes LSTA from 2003 to 2007, is awaiting a vote by the House of Representatives. The bill features two major changes: it raises the minimum state library funding to $500,000 from its original $340,000 allocation set in 1971, and it increases overall library funding to $300 million from $150 million. The Senate version of the bill, which ups total library funding to $350 million, is still before the Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee. Since Senate majority leader Tom Daschle (D-SD) is among the bill's 14 cosponsors, it should have no trouble getting on the schedule. No vote had been scheduled at press time.

Meanwhile, the Senate Appropriations Committee passed a bill on July 18 with some significant implications for the profession. IMLS would receive a total of $214 million, including an additional $10 million to help with the recruitment initiative announced by Laura Bush earlier this year.

The appropriations bill would also double Senator Jack Reed's (D-RI) Literacy Through School Libraries competitive grant program to $25 million for FY2003 from its current $12.5 million. House supporters hope to increase the amount to at least $100 million, the minimum required for states to start distributing the grants. Legislators, however, may decide to hold off voting until after Election Day, says Sheketoff.

Carol Fiore, a program specialist for Florida's Division of Library and Information Services, is hopeful that LSTA will be reauthorized, adding that although her state has one of the largest federal appropriations budgets ($7 million in 2002), there still isn't enough money to finance many worthy projects.

Advocacy is the key, Sheketoff says, to gaining increased funding. "These efforts are marathons, not sprints," she says. "We need to keep… talking to legislators about these issues. If they don't hear from us, they'll give the money to someone else."